JewishGen.org Discussion Group FAQs
What is the JewishGen.org Discussion Group?
The JewishGen.org Discussion Group unites thousands of Jewish genealogical researchers worldwide as they research their family history, search for relatives, and share information, ideas, methods, tips, techniques, and resources. The JewishGen.org Discussion Group makes it easy, quick, and fun, to connect with others around the world.
Is it Secure?
Yes. JewishGen is using a state of the art platform with the most contemporary security standards. JewishGen will never share member information with third parties.
How is the New JewishGen.org Discussion Group better than the old one?
Our old Discussion List platform was woefully antiquated. Among its many challenges: it was not secure, it required messages to be sent in Plain Text, did not support accented characters or languages other than English, could not display links or images, and had archives that were not mobile-friendly.
This new platform that JewishGen is using is a scalable, and sustainable solution, and allows us to engage with JewishGen members throughout the world. It offers a simple and intuitive interface for both members and moderators, more powerful tools, and more secure archives (which are easily accessible on mobile devices, and which also block out personal email addresses to the public).
I am a JewishGen member, why do I have to create a separate account for the Discussion Group?
As we continue to modernize our platform, we are trying to ensure that everything meets contemporary security standards. In the future, we plan hope to have one single sign-in page.
I like how the current lists work. Will I still be able to send/receive emails of posts (and/or digests)?
Yes. In terms of functionality, the group will operate the same for people who like to participate with email. People can still send a message to an email address (in this case, main@groups.JewishGen.org), and receive a daily digest of postings, or individual emails. In addition, Members can also receive a daily summary of topics, and then choose which topics they would like to read about it. However, in addition to email, there is the additional functionality of being able to read/post messages utilizing our online forum (https://groups.jewishgen.org).
Does this new system require plain-text?
No.
Can I post images, accented characters, different colors/font sizes, non-latin characters?
Yes.
Can I categorize a message? For example, if my message is related to Polish, or Ukraine research, can I indicate as such?
Yes! Our new platform allows members to use “Hashtags.” Messages can then be sorted, and searched, based upon how they are categorized. Another advantage is that members can “mute” any conversations they are not interested in, by simply indicating they are not interested in a particular “hashtag.”
Will all posts be archived?
Yes.
Can I still search though old messages?
Yes. All the messages are accessible and searchable going back to 1998.
What if I have questions or need assistance using the new Group?
Send your questions to: support@JewishGen.org
How do I access the Group’s webpage?
Follow this link: https://groups.jewishgen.org/g/main
So just to be sure - this new group will allow us to post from our mobile phones, includes images, accented characters, and non-latin characters, and does not require plain text?
Correct!
Will there be any ads or annoying pop-ups?
No.
Will the current guidelines change?
Yes. While posts will be moderated to ensure civility, and that there is nothing posted that is inappropriate (or completely unrelated to genealogy), we will be trying to create an online community of people who regulate themselves, much as they do (very successfully) on Jewish Genealogy Portal on Facebook.
What are the new guidelines?
There are just a few simple rules & guidelines to follow, which you can read here:https://groups.jewishgen.org/g/main/guidelines
Thank you in advance for contributing to this amazing online community!
If you have any questions, or suggestions, please email support@JewishGen.org.
Sincerely,
The JewishGen.org Team
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Re: Daily summary; margins; format
Hilary Henkin
Hi Malka,
toggle quoted messageShow quoted text
I"m writing to you directly. Basically, just wait a few days. The new system is set up so that when there are 12 messages "in queue", the system sends them out in a digest. 24 messages means 2 digests, and so on. Once the flurry calms down, 12 should be fine, we didn't used to have more than 12 messages a day. Ah, this is like the first day of school! Hilary Henkin Los Angeles area
On 10/15/2019 12:28 PM, Malka wrote:
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Re: Digests vs Daily Summary
Hilary Henkin
Someone else said this, but it bears repeating.
toggle quoted messageShow quoted text
For those who are receiving the daily digests (plural): Others have clarified that a digest will hold up to 12 messages - when the system gets 12, it sends out a new digest. I've gotten probably more messages in the past three days, than in the past year. I'm sure the designers studied our daily traffic, and decided a 12-message limit would be ample. We haven't had that much activity since the 1990s. Once we figure out how to reply privately, and how to do everything else so we're not posting so many posts, the traffic will quiet down, and the "Daily Digest" will probably drop to just one per day. Good luck, everyone! Hilary Henkin Los Angeles area
On 10/15/2019 7:43 AM,
dankarlan@... wrote:
If it's possible for me to get a Daily Summary, then why can't I subscribe to a TRUE Daily Digest? The summary only has the titles, and each title links to a web page. At least the digests had all the information I want to see right there in the e-mail (minus a "top" link to return to the listing of titles). But repeated (sometimes 3 or 4 in the space of 5 minutes) digests are NOT "daily". They are simply a nuisance.
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Re: Platform and Android
Marilen Pitler
See below, this just bounced back. Will try sending another way and hope it works!!
On Tuesday, October 15, 2019, 08:37:04 PM CDT, MAILER-DAEMON@... <MAILER-DAEMON@...> wrote:
Sorry, we were unable to deliver your message to the following address.
<main@...>:
510: 5.1.1 Your email address, mpitler@..., is not subscribed to that group. To subscribe, send an email to main+subscribe@..., or visit https://groups.jewishgen.org/g/main
On Tuesday, October 15, 2019, 08:28:48 PM CDT, Marilen Pitler <mpitler@...> wrote:
I also use an Android phone. I am able to use the Digest's hyperlinks on my laptop, but not on my phone. I thought it had to do with my cell's settings, but hearing from another Android user, I feel it is a problem with the Digest itself.
Thank you,
Marilen, St. Louis
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Re: Multiple digests
Paula Eisenstein Baker
Why do some posts include the poster’s e-mail address but other posts do not?
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Re: New format
Frank Schulaner
"Too complicated to be useful." I know. But having nothing to do at the time, I drank (impossible to guzzle) some sake and slowly (impossible to rush it) tried to figure it out. Now I see, think I see, the light at the end of the tunnel. Better be right this time.
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Translation from Polish needed
#poland
Linda Kelley
This is a list of 48 persecuted persons from Belitsa, Poland, now Belarus, who were murdered in the Holocaust. It is from Yad Vashem. Mendel Novogrudski is on this list, possibly with his wife, Batsheva Belsky, b. about 1902, and their
son, Shmuel Shimon, who was born about 1941. This has been copied repeatedly, and is difficult to read. This is an important list that should be available in English at Yad Vashem and JewishGen's Holocaust database, and I will send it to them if it can be deciphered. Please let me know if this is not Polish. Thank you very much! Linda Wolfe Kelley Portland, OR, USA
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Feedback Form for New Format
Simon Zelman
Hi All,
Yes, I too have been receiving multiple digests per day and that issue is not helped by the fact that we have dozens of people writing in daily, saying that they are receiving multiple digests per day. There are over 7,000 people on this distribution list; let's keep the conversations centered around genealogy and if we have feedback on this new format, let's collect it in a centralized location outside of these messages. I've created a form to collect feedback for those of you that wish to share: https://forms.gle/ZgPjB3tAwxVCQfzU9 Please keep feedback constructive. It is not useful to say "can't we just go back to the old format?". I was not involved in this project but I can assure you that this was a lot of work on the part of the JewishGen (mostly volunteer) staff. Let's show them some appreciation and be patient as they work out the kinks. Going back is not an option; we were well-past overdue for an overhaul of this 25+ year system. We need to be able to send attachments/images, we need to be able to use a system that is better optimized for Gmail and is not optimized for people using Netscape Navigator, and we need a system that includes support for Genners around the world, writing in different languages. Please, enough of the "I don't like this" messages without providing suggestions for improvement. Once we stop writing those messages and go back to our focus on Jewish Genealogy, we will stop receiving so many digests per day and hey, practice makes perfect. Change is good, change is essential, and I assure you that you will all get used to this system as well. Patience is key. Discussion Group admins (and anyone else interested), responses to the form will live here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1XXydyNVZFN5sPzE0ejCTejWTMdYhJ3JGkZlWJtsdNCE/edit#gid=1388890725 Best, Simon Zelman Researching: DUBROVNA, KANTOR, HOLZMAN, OKUN, BIALOBROTKO, LEVIN, SLEVICH, AKHIMOV, GOLT, FLEISHER, REIZHEVICH, SHKLIAROVSKY, MIROTSNIK, ZELMAN, GRUVER, GERSHTEYN, GITELMAN, ALPERIN, TAUB, GILBERMAN, ABRAMS
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Ancestry Introduces AncestryHealthR
#dna
Jan Meisels Allen
Ancestry announced their new service, AncestryHealth®. There are two services: AncestryHealth Core™, a one-time, array-based service, and AncestryHealth Plus™, a membership service using next generation sequencing (NGS) technology. Ancestry partnered with PWNHealth, an independent network of board-certified physicians and genetic counselors for both Ancestry services. The laboratory tests and health reports do not provide a diagnosis of any disease or disorder. The tests are not cleared or approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. You should consult a healthcare provider before taking any action based on AncestryHealth® reports, including before making any treatment, dietary, or lifestyle changes. Prior to testing, Ancestry will provide educational tools to help patients understand its limitations and what they can hope to learn, while post-test education will focus on explaining what the results mean in the context of their health and family history. For the cost of the services, PWNHealth will provide pre-test genetic counseling, if ordering doctors determine it is necessary but mostly at customers' request, as well as post-test counseling. Genetic counselors will be available to customers through webinars, online chats, and via telephone. Customers of AncestryHealth will fill out a series of questions about their family health history. That information will be going to a physician, who orders the test on your behalf. Physicians in telemedicine firm PWNHealth's network will review and approve customer orders based on the online questionnaires. Those physicians will advise whether or not a genetic health test is appropriate for a customer. For example someone with a bone marrow transplant is not a good candidate for any genetic health test as the results would be their donor’s results not theirs. Then, if physician approved, the patient saliva samples will be sent to the labs for analysis and reporting. This is the same as when you send in your DNA sample --its sent to the lab, or if you already have taken an Ancestry DNA test then the sample is taken from the securely stored sample. According to an article in geneomeweb.com (https://www.genomeweb.com/business-news/ancestry-begins-genetic-testing-services-health), “The services will gauge mutations in genes associated with risk for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (BRCA1 and BRCA2); Lynch syndrome (MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, and PMS2), familial hypercholesterolemia, hypertrophic/dilated cardiomyopathy (MYH7 and MYBPC3), hereditary hemochromatosis, and thrombosis. They will also offer carrier screening for diseases such as cystic fibrosis, Tay-Sachs, and sickle cell.” You have to have taken or take an Ancestry DNA test. The cost of the DNA test is not included in the prices below. Some people may need to take another test. The charge for the
AncestryHealth Core test is:
Existing Customers: $49 – AncestryHealth Report + AncestryDNA
New customers: $149 – AncestryHealth Report + AncestryDNA
AncestryHealth Plus(subscription) is:
Existing Customers: $98 ($49 now, $49 later) – AncestryHealth Report + AncestryDNA + Health subscription
New customers: $199 ($49 ongoing subscription) – AncestryHealth Report + AncestryDNA + Health subscription
If you are not already an Ancestry subscriber you can create a free Ancestry account by going to: https://www.ancestry.com/account/create (this will let you register and review your DNA results it will not let you access the databases, for that you must have a subscription).
There are certain eligibility requirements: you must live in the United States but not residents of New York, New Jersey or Rhode Island; be at least 18 years old able to produce saliva.
AncestryHealth services include:
To learn more go to: https://www.ancestry.com/health
To read Ancestry’s CEO, Margo Geordiadis’ blog about this see: https://blogs.ancestry.com/ancestry/
For answers to many questions see: https://support.ancestry.com/s/topic/0TO1C0000001B5RWAU/ancestryhealth
To read Ancestry’s press release see:
I have no affiliation with Ancestry and am sharing this solely for the information of the reader.
Jan Meisels Allen Chairperson, IAJGS Public Records Access Monitoring Committee
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Re: SIG emails
Jeff Miller
For what it's worth (FWIW), I received one SIG message today from Belarus (typically I get many messages each day from my various groups). Yesterday I received messages only from Austria-Czech and South Africa SIGs. The day before my messages to SIG lists included only Ukraine, Romania, LitvakSIG, and Yizkor Project.
On the last day I received a JewishGen digest, I also received messages from seven SIG Digests.
Warmest Regards, Jeff Miller Researching Lan/Lane and Yudleowitz from Lithuania, Freider/Fraider from Ukraine, Mlynarz/Mlynarzewicz, Shapowicz/Shapowitz, Brzezinski/Berzinsky/Bergins(ky), Cymerman/Cyrman from Poland, among others
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Re: Cherkassy-Smela
#ukraine
Sol Sylvan
Yonah Sztencl
Jump to navigation
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Rabbi Yona Sztencl (Hebrew: יונה שטנצל, pronounced Shtentzel) (1904–1969) was a Jewish Orthodox Rabbi who founded the Mishnah Yomis and the Halacha Yomis. He also served as the Rabbi of Congregation Bais Hassidim "Arlenger" in Tel Aviv and was a member of the Chief Rabbinate of Tel Aviv.  Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, together with Rabbi Yona Shtencel founder Daily Halacha daily mishna  Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, together with Rabbi Yona Shtencel founder Daily Halacha daily mishna [[קובץ:Chazon ish in tel aviv.jpg|ממוזער|שמאל|250px|החזון איש משמש כסנדק בברית מילה, תל אביב, סוף שנות ה-40]] Family background[edit]Sztencl was born in Sosnowiec, Poland on 3 August 1904 to Rabbi Shlomo and Miriam Baila Zweigenhaft. Sztencl was born into a rabbinical family. His father Shlomo was a Polish Orthodox Jewish rabbi who served as Chief Rabbi of Czeladź, Poland, and Rav, dayan, and rosh yeshiva of Sosnowiec, Poland. He also authored Koheles Shlomo[1] and Beis Shlomo. Sztencl's mother Miriam was the daughter of Rabbi Efraim Mordechai Mottel Zweigenhaft who served as a Posek and Shochet in Sosnowiec.[2] Biography[edit]In his youth Sztencl studied in Kraków, Poland. His study partner, Moshe Mordechai Biderman would later become Grand Rabbi of the Lelov dynasty. Thereafter, Sztencel was one of the first students to study in the famed Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva. In 1932, Sztencl married Sheva Fiszel, the daughter of a businessman in Sosnowiec. In 1935, Sztencl immigrated to Palestine and settled in Tel Aviv where, in addition to serving as the Rabbi of a local synagogue named "Bais Chassidim - Erlanger", he was appointed as a member of the Chief Rabbinate of Tel Aviv. Initially his duties involved overseeing the Kashrut in Tel Aviv, a position which he held jointly with Grand Rabbi Shemuel Eliyahu Taub of the Modzitz dynasty. Thereafter, Sztencl was appointed as the sole authority in Sabbath enforcement. After most of his family perished in the Holocaust, Sztencl created the Mishnah Yomis and the Halacha Yomis as a spiritual merit for the millions of deceased. These programs received overwhelming support from many Rabbinical authorities of the time, among them, Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer, Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, Rabbi Avraham Mordechai Alter and Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson.[3]
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Discussion list
Hazel Dakers
In the world in which I used to work – libraries – when new systems were to be introduced there were tussles between IT departments and chartered librarians. The IT nerds loved dreaming up new systems for their own sake. The chartered librarians saw their role as representing the users and making sure that any new systems were going to be useful and user-friendly to the end users.
I get the feeling that the stalwart team of generous volunteers at Jewishgen include a good many people with a very high level of IT skills. They needed to be matched by a representative group of users who were not particularly admiring of or skilled at IT – people who just want discussion lists, databases and websites to do the jobs for which they are set up.
All that surprises me is that the new discussion list seems to have been launched on thousands of users without extensive and thorough piloting by ordinary list members unskilled with IT. This is like an engineer designing a fantastic new sort of engine for an aircraft but it doesn’t enable the plane to fly.
Please revert back to the old system with daily digests and the SIG lists which I miss, until this new toy as been tested and re-tested by non-experts. If this software does not do what we users need and cannot be satisfactorily adapted then it should not be selected.
Hazel Dakers, London UK researching: BIRNBAUM (Zgierz & Lodz, Poland), GOLD (Zgierz & Lodz, Poland), HEIMANN (Luegde, Germany & South Africa), NORDEN (London and South Africa)
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Re: Cherkassy-Smela
#ukraine
sharon@...
I would also like to know what you are referring to when mentioning
“list for Smela”. My Father’s family were all from Smela and
I have tried for year to get more information about Smela and
the residents.
Thank you,
Sharon Kushner
Colorado Springs
Researching: ZAMANSKY, DOLINSKY, CHERKASSKY, ANNAPOLSKY
Moderator note: please respond back privately
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Choice
Michael Palmer
Often when Internet programs are changed - “updated”, users are given the option to change back to the older/original format.
If this could be done with the new JewishGen many people could revert to the old one rather than complain, AND have the option to use the new format if - and when they are ready. Michael Palmer Shalmuk, Schalamuk, Wolf, Glotzer, Kaplan
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Re: New format
Joan A. Baronberg
Technically I am replying to Steven King’s message today but, my “reply” doesn’t automatically include his original message, so how would anyone know? (thus, I am copying and pasting that below*). The underlying point is that no one seems to have preceded this whole new platform by involving the Jewishgen digest readership in its selection. Personally, I find that objectionable—and as it proves, we all are seeing the consequences. It’s as if a basically private process (a group still unidentified to us by name) decided on this new step, rather than having the existing readership report if they were A-dissatisfied with the status quo, B-what are their priorities in a daily digest and C-on what devices or programs are they reading the posts?
We have a wonderful and experienced group of researchers whose needs and interests and trust should be acknowledged. Can we go back to Square One and start this whole process over again? Joan Baronberg Denver, CO {And BTW, we used to put in the family names we are researching right along with our signature on each message or reply. I’m renewing that custom. Mester, Master, Friedman, Weiser. Suchostav, Ukraine) *
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Re: SIG emails
Naomi Finkelstein
I, also have not received a single message from the 4 groups to which I belong.
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Daily summary
gnome-is-now@...
Yesterday, I changed my subscription to Daily Summary and today I received both. Naomi Finkelstein
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Re: websites and aids
Susana Leistner Bloch
Dear Esther,
I have no record of an messages from you. Please e-mail me ASAP so I can get someone to help you.
Susana
From: main@... [mailto:main@...] On Behalf Of Esther
Sent: Tuesday, October 15, 2019 2:47 PM To: main@... Subject: Re: [JewishGen.org] websites and aids
I had technical aids who helped me set up these 4 websites and add material to them. Now 2 of these aids are not able to help me. I need help to add the material to the websites. I do not have a way of doing so by myself. I have no way to get into these websites to add the material. I contacted Suzanna a few times; but am still waiting for some help.. What should I do?
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Re: SIG emails
Vivian Kahn
Messages have gone out to the Hungarian discussion list. I can't speak to the others but agree with others who have commented that messages don't go out if none have been received and moderated! Also, may have been delays due to High Holidays.
Vivian Kahn, Oakland, California JewishGen Hungarian Research Director
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Re: Digests vs Daily Summary
Ron
Is it possible to get a weekly report? I find a daily e-mail to be too frequent.
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Re: websites and aids
Esther
I had technical aids who helped me set up these 4 websites and add material to them. Now 2 of these aids are not able to help me. I need help to add the material to the websites. I do not have a way of doing so by myself. I have no way to get into these websites to add the material. I contacted Suzanna a few times; but am still waiting for some help.. What should I do?
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